A Carpenter's Star Quilt

There is a lovely shop I came across the other day, not too far from my home, in the little one horse town of Bingen, Washington. It is called Antiques and Oddities and it is chock full of every kind of old thing you could ever wish to see. I of course am always on the lookout for a good quilt bargain and am happy to say I found two lovely example's for a very good price.

Now I love quilts that are not too perfect, and I especially love quilts from the twenties and thirties. So imagine my delight in finding not one but two of them hanging on a rack in a small stall. This first one was made in a pattern with the various names of, Carpenter's Star, Carpenter's Wheel, and Carpenter's Square. From what I could find on line, the pattern represents that of a tradesman and has religious significance as well, as referring to Jesus the great carpenter.

I loved the pale yellow color contrasting with white of this one and the intricate detail of all of the stitching. This seamstress really wanted folks to know that she was very talented. Her stitches are very small and run 8 & 9 to the inch, plus she added close crosshatching and prairie points to make things even more interesting.

This is a pretty good sized quilt, larger than most of my others, measuring 81"wide by 100" long. Unfortunately my pictures did not turn out as well as I would have liked, for my shop is not yet built, so I am having to make due with trying to take pictures of the quilts while laid out on my bed.
Here is a pattern block of what it should look like in bright detail. Mine is a slight variant of this pattern. The four corners on my quilt are made up of just two blocks all in white. One long and one small square.
Here is another example of the same style of quilt, I found on the net, to give you an idea of the many ways this pattern can be done. I find it to be very intricate and beautiful. Just when I think I have found a pattern I like the most I see another that is equally wonderful. This is just such a pattern.
This is my quilt, unfortunately the lighting just does not allow you to see how lovely it is. The pale yellow and white do not have enough contrast to show up well.
You can see here some of the interesting stitching, and also her yellow and white triangle's at each corner instead of just sewing strips and square's. This lady really liked to go the extra mile.
Another look at those corner triangle's and the white blocks of the corner, with one small square and one long rectangle.
Here is a portion of the back, it really shows this ladies talent for fine needlework. Just look at all of that work. It makes me grateful to own such a lovely piece but also grateful I didn't spend the hours I know it took to do it.
This quilt must have been for summer use, as it is very lightweight and has a thin cotton batting. I believe it was made some time in the 1920's given its style and type of fabrics. I am going to go back to the store where I found it and try to find out more about the seamstress or at least who it may have belonged to?! If I find out I will keep you posted.
Sadly, it did have a bit of damage in places, tho this was the worst of it. The prairie points on its edges were all pretty worn, which tells me that this was a quilt that saw a goodly amount of use and was not just taken out on special occasions. But then that is just the kind of quilt I like. A quilt that shared the bed with many a soul gathering warmth from its precious fabrics. The hand of a fine seamstress caring for the needs of her family and friends. Nothing could be finer!









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